Defending the Inflation Reduction Act’s Drug Price Negotiation Against Industry Lawsuits
In every lawsuit, Public Citizen has filed amicus briefs on behalf of consumer and health groups in support of the price-negotiation progam.
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 contains several reforms designed to lower the high cost of prescription drugs and make them more accessible to patients, including seniors enrolled in Medicare. One such reform is the IRA’s drug price negotiation program, which provides a pathway to lower the prices for a particular set of high-cost drugs—so-called single-source drugs, for which no generic equivalent is currently on the market. The program relies on a process in which the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is responsible for implementing Medicare, and the manufacturer of selected drugs negotiate the prices at which drugs will be made available to Medicare providers and drug plans.
Drug companies have filed lawsuits in courts across the country challenging the IRA program under various theories, including theories under the Constitution’s Takings Clause and Due Process Clause. In each case, Public Citizen, joined by Patients for Affordable Drugs Now, Doctors for America, Protect Our Care, and Families USA, filed an amicus brief in support of the government. Our amicus briefs explain that high prescription drug prices force many Medicare enrollees, including seniors, to cut back on other necessary expenses or forgo medications that they cannot afford, risking adverse health effects and premature death. In addition, because the companies’ theories are based on the faulty premises that drug companies are obligated to participate in Medicare and that the price they prefer to charge Medicare patients is the “market” price from which any reduction in price under the program must be evaluated, our briefs also explain how drug pricing operates in the U.S.
Novo Nordisk v. Becerra
- See our January 31, 2024 amicus brief here.
- Additional details on this case available from Public Citizen’s Litigation Group here.
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. v. Becerra
- See our January 16, 2024 amicus brief here.
- Additional details on this case available from Public Citizen’s Litigation Group here.
- On October 18, 2024, the district court, rejecting each of the company’s claims, granted summary judgment in favor of the agency.
- See our January 16, 2024 amicus brief here and our February 26, 2025 amicus brief here.
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, v. Dep’t of Health and Human Services
- See our district court brief here and our appellate brief here.
- Additional details on this case available from Public Citizen’s Litigation Group here.
Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce v. Becerra
- See our December 19, 2023 amicus brief here.
- See our August 14, 2023 amicus brief here.
- Additional details on this case available from Public Citizen’s Litigation Group here.
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP v. Becerra
- See our November 2, 2023 amicus brief here.
- Additional details on this case available from Public Citizen’s Litigation Group here.
Bristol Myers Squibb Co. v. Becerra; Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Becerra
- See our October 17, 2023 amicus brief here.
- Additional details on this case available from Public Citizen’s Litigation Group here.
Merck & Co. v. Becerra
- See our September 13, 2023 amicus brief here.
- Additional details on this case available from Public Citizen’s Litigation Group here.
National Infusion Center Ass’n v. Kennedy
- See our April 22, 2025 amicus brief here.
- Additional details on this case available from Public Citizen’s Litigation Group here.